Rangers-Devils Game 6 in review

One last time … or at least, one final game review. We’ll have a lot more to discuss, analyze, etc., over the coming days and weeks. Maybe we can do a Live Chat during the coming week and talk it all out.

Thoughts:

1) I’m trying to feel your pain, because I do imagine how much it hurts when a season ends so suddenly, especially a season like this one, and a playoff run like this one. And I gotta tell you, the guys who wore the uniform felt it too. Ryan McDonagh, who was flat on the ice on the game-winner, looked like he’d cried his eyes out. Marc Staal looked like he was going to puke. John Tortorella and Ryan Callahan were hurting so much, but you could tell, also, that there was some pride inside of them. And I’m sure once the initial hurt subsides, you will feel that way, too. Because, really, it was a remarkable year that arrived one or two years ahead of schedule for this young team. We’ll talk more about that at a later date.

2) I sort of started to say this in the comments last night, because so many of you kind of started to say it too, and I don’t say this enough: you guys rule. With all your crazy stuff, all your humor, all your fatalism sometimes, all your opinions, whether I agree or disagree, you are the most loyal fans anywhere on this planet, and you are absolutely nuts. And that’s what makes this place go. So, once again, thank you. Just thank you. Also, thanks to Josh Thomson, 26, for all his help during this run, and to all youse who helped out with the Three Stars.

3) How many times this season, and in the first two rounds, were there games that could have gone either way and somehow ended up going the Rangers’ way? Games 5 and 6 could have gone the Rangers way. Neither did. Game over, season over.

4) I’m not into pointing fingers, as in this guy’s gotta go, or that guy stinks, or that guy choked, or whatever. But there were some obvious culprits here. So let’s put it this way (and I hope my math is correct, but it’s late, so it might be a tad off. When third/fourth-liner Ruslan Fedotenko (2-3-5), defensive defenseman Dan Girardi (2-3-5) and a rookie who still hasn’t played an NHL regular-season game, Chris Kreider (3-1-4) combine for 14 points, and that’s more than Brad Richards (4), Marian Gaborik (1), Derek Stepan (1), Brian Boyle (2), Carl Hagelin (0), Brandon Prust (1), Brandon Dubinsky (1) Michael Del Zotto (2), Marc Staal (1), Mike Rupp (0), John Mitchell (0), Stu Bickel (0) and Steve Eminger (0) combined, well, that’s a problem.

5) And mucho credit due to the Devils. Mucho. Going to be really interesting to see if they can shut down the L.A. Kings now. While giving credit to the Devils, isn’t it remarkable how they keep re-stocking their talent? They’ve got a lot of young guys who can sure play. Best organization in sports?

6) NBC, which once again gave us a production that seemed as it it were the network’s first game — I mean, could we get one replay of the winning goal, start to finish, that didn’t look like it was shot from the moon? — gets what it deserves. A ratings bummer.

7) These starts by the Rangers were clearly their downfall. The one in Game 5, I didn’t think it was so awful, but three pucks went in, so it was a disaster. The one in Game 6, I thought, was a case of Marc Staal being too aggressive on one (missing his man, then not picking up the trailer), one on which Ryan Callahan was over-aggressive on the PK, leaving Ilya Kovalchuk all alone for a dunk, and one pinch by Dan Girardi on which Henrik Lundqvist bailed him out.

8) I agree with Torts. I don’t think fatigue can be an issue at this stage. I don’t. Everybody’s tired now to some degree. But if you’re dog tired after 18, 19, 20 games, you can’t win the Cup. The ’94 Rangers were just beat to hell by the Devils — and please, don’t ever compare this series to that one in terms of nastiness and brutality — and got to Game 20 up 3-1 on Vancouver. Maybe that took a toll on that much older team. You have to be able to play more than 18, 19, 20 games to win.

9) Kovalchuk took over the playoff scoring lead wth his 17th and 18th points. Going into last night, Claude Giroux was the leader. He played in 10 games. What does that say about the Rangers, Devils and Kings? (well, in fairness, he played against a Pittsburgh team that embarrassed itself defensively and in goal).

10) I don’t even know how to say anything about Henrik Lundqvist at this moment. He deserves better. In every series in which he’s played in his career, he has stolen games, including one or two in this series (the Devils really could have won all six games). This year he finally won some OTs, and he won a couple of 2-1 Game 7s. But he needs to take it one more step. Then another. And I’m not blaming him one bit for any loss in this series, even Game 5, when there seemed to be an idiotic number of fingers aimed at him.

11) Break-up day is Monday. We’ll do some analysis and discussion today and tomorrow, then Josh and I will tackle Monday — Tortorella, who said he learned a lot about his players, some of it good, some not so good, might be interesting in his post mortem. Then, as I said, a Live Chat at some point during the week. Then the Summer of Carp begins. I had forgotten how strenuous it is to cover a long playoff run.

12) Sally sends this reminder, and it is critical: “Please send me beard pics before you shave. Thanks. Zetterburger@gmail.com ”

13) Judging from the picture on top, do you think Buffalo Sabres fans think that goal should have counted?

It just hurts – no matter how many times it happens, elimination from the playoffs is a uniquely painful experience, maybe because of all the emotional investment we have in the team’s play for nearly a whole year..

I’m wondering why Kreider didn’t get more ice time – was he exhausted from not being in “NHL-condition”, or was the coaching staff afraid that he might make costly defensive mistakes..? It seemed like our “regular” forwards just couldn’t break through the checking or whatever – even the young guys like Step and Hags…they had a pretty uneventful playoff series in this one..

I was feeling a little better after the devastating loss, but now I have tears in my eyes again. I blame you Carp!;) So now you have to wait until spring before you get Norwegian candy again. Unless you win some in the beard contest. ;)

Well, thanks for a fun and long season Boneheads! See you around, it’s time to enjoy the summer.

I don’t know why we need to have either of those widgets running on this blog anymore this spring – our season is over – what more do we need to see from anyone else? If it were free agent signing time, or the amateur draft, I could understand it, but now, it’s just abuse to have it there.

Carp thanks a million for doing what you do. Watching the games and then reading your input adds another level of enjoyment to the greatest sporting event that TV does no justice too. Especially NBC, I Live in Las Vegas and watched every game this year and flew in to attend games 2-3-4-5 and 6 of the Conference Finals. I’m heartbroken as this team earned a special place among NY Ranger teams I have followed in person every year as a season suscriber before moving to Vegas in 2001. My first Ranger game was in 1960 when I was 9 yrs old, when my dad took me to the old MSG and I was hooked from then. Thank you, Thank You, Thank You ,I sound like the Captain repeating it like that but it comes from the heart.

To the rest of you boneheads be very proud of this team it will be good for a while, I’m a gambling man and I know a sure bet when I see one.

Make sure you don’t miss the epic firetortsian rant from Robby Bonfire/Crassius towards the end of the last thread.

Gasp as you learn that the Rangers should’ve started Biron in a few playoff games.

Look on in awe at the proof that one practice in the Washington series derailed a guaranteed championship.

Stand mouth agape at the revelation (from sonebody admitting to listening to the game on Devils radio) that heavy minutes in October turned Girardi and McDonagh into the gibbering wrecks they evidently were in the Conference Final.

Prepare your WTF face at some rambling anecdote about how Tommy LaSorda would’ve led the team to a Cup in 16 games (or something, who knows?)

1) I think fatigue did take it tolls against the defense.
2) Was mdz hurt? he played scared the last two games. Looked very unsure with the puck in our own end.
3) we need to hire a power play expert because ours is downright horrible.
4) we missed sauer more than anyone will admit.
5) the devils 4th line outplayed our 3rd and 4th line.

I may be wrong (likely) but it seems to me that most teams turn it up a notch in the playoffs. Watching the Devils-Florida series I thought they would be easy, the way they surrendered leads. But the Devils turned it up. I misread the Philly series, thinking that Philly was just awful in their own end and complacent after the Pittsburgh thing. The Devils played great. Like I said, teams turn it up a notch for the playoffs. I suspect the Rangers turned it up a notch all season, and did not have the next gear for the playoffs.

We also learned alot about MacD and Kreider. You can tell both guys had an extra jump and wanted to be the BIG playmakers. They are both cut from a different cloth, MacD really showed he is our BEST D-man and it’s not even close to a comparison with anyone else. Tough loss for him.

Hank is still the best.

The only thing better are you guys and Carp. Thanks again, everyone, it’s been a special season.

im the type of guy who doesnt ask for much in life. seeing this team win a championship is one of the few things that would make me happy. i just dont know if we will get back soon. who knows how our kids will pan out. who knows if gabby cares like we do.

Re: NBC Coverage: I totally agree with you Carp, they have no clue, and “Doc’s” commentary has been “knifed” into my brain and it’s “rattled around” there for some time, I’m hoping to “pitchfork it out”, but it seems to be another “save by Brodeur” that’s not allowing it…
Having him do EVERY Ranger-Devil came was torture, especially with those “analysts”, Keith Jones is the only decent one, Eddie O was OK mostly, when he could get in a word over Doc’s histrionics, Milbury is terrible, as is JR, and Creep[y Pierre between the glass is not something that would give me confidence…
I dealt with the time delay and turned off the sound and listened to real Hockey announcers on the radio: Kenny ALbert and Dave Maloney…

Every season is like a new life – we’ll have some guys go, and others come in – there will be a lot of our guys from this season, but some changes need to be made to get more balanced scoring into the top 3 lines – and it will be an adjustment process all throughout the season.

These guys who say “the future is bright” are like pollyannas to me – yeah, we have some good parts, but the whole damned team is going to be overhauled over the summer, one way or the other. That’s hockey nowadays. It isn’t like the 1970’s where a team kept almost all the same players for 6-7 years or more. Those days are over. It’s a constant “churn” of old players going, and new ones coming in.

And still, the Fire & Ice tweets roll triumphantly in up above – I’ll never understand why we were subjected to that crap in the first place, and why we still have to put up with it? Any answers, anyone?

Carp, right on as usual. I always felt this was the year to get ready for a cup run next year. Tort’s press conference after the game was so encouraging, being that he felt there were some things that were bothering him about his team. It pumped me up for the future. I killed Girardi last year and he proved me wrong this year but he picked a hell of a time to go for a stroll behind the net. I hope this coaching staff takes on the philosphy of toughening up the defense. Way too many poke checks in front of the crease instead of laying bodies. It can’t be fixed by adding a tough guy but by teaching a tougher standard in front of the best goalie in the world. AND, the power play needs a different approach. Thank you team, Carp and boneheads for a wonderful season. We have alot to look forward to.

I just woke up and my first glimmer of awareness was that empty feeling. I can only imagine how bad it is for the team.

Last year when the Rangers lost early, I was encouraged by the type of effort and young talent that made me very optimistic in anticipation of this year and many to come. They didn’t disappoint and are at least a year ahead of schedule. They really have the potential to be very good for a long time. Even still, to come this close to the finals…

But as I’ve done since about 1963 when I was 5 years old, I’ll look forward to next year and the possibility that we’ll find a way to get over the hump. It’s a glorious thing when it does happen. The 1994 Cup and the parade that followed are among the most precious memories of my life. And those of us old enough to have lived through the mocking “1940” chant era know that it’s that much sweeter because we hung in there through the thick and the thin, bleeding blue every arduous step of the way. I look forward to the day when the younger among us can experience their first Stanley Cup. Keep on believing.

Finally… I read this blog every day, and had the opportunity once this year to contribute my 3 stars to Carp’s amazing coverage of our favorite team. But this is the first time I’ve added comments to the discussion. I’ve been content to read and not rant until now. But I’m changing up the routine today to offer thanks…

1) Thanks to all of you, my fellow Ranger fans, for all the passion you bring to bare. It’s a great joy to be part of such a tradition over the years. Life can be tough, as it was for me last night when I received some devastating personal news about 2 hours before game time. But the games and the team have always been a safe haven even in times of grief. Compared to matters of life and death, I know we care too much. But feeling connected to the team and its fans is something I’d rather celebrate than analyze at this moment.

2) And a special THANK YOU to Mr. Rick Carpiniello, for providing the absolute best Rangers coverage imaginable. You sir, are a professional’s professional. Your reporting and analysis is second to none. This has indeed been a special season. Your coverage both in the paper and on the blog is a big part of the magic. Every post-game morning I wake up, log on, read the post-game notes, and forward them to my wife, son, and daughter. My only regret is that we won’t get to share in that ritual again this season. But as always, there’s next year.

Carp, great review, thanks again for everything. And good to see most of the boneheads, although obviously sad, are seeing things in a positive light. Hey, sometimes you need to lose to know how to win, just like the devs did in 94. I think the kings will take ’em…and probably would have beat us too. Our top scorers didnt produce, and that was the big difference.

Great encapsulation Carp. I type this with a feeling of emptiness, but also one with pride. It truly sucks when your team is eliminated from playoff contention, but with the Free-Agency period a little over a month away and the guys we have in that locker room, we all see what this team has become – a contender. A coach these players respect and play for night in and night out shows us that we have something special. Go Blueshirts!

So proud to be a Rangers fan. What a great team to follow all season. I don’t know if its just a hockey thing in general, but my gosh, it really seems like all these guys care about each other and aren’t going after one another behind their backs or in the media (like you see with nba/nfl teams). There is not a single guy I wanted to root against, or I wanted to see benched or traded, I loved every guy on this team. The good news is, it looks like the core of this team will be together for a long time, so maybe its a bit early to be doing this after such a loss…but I’m looking forward to next year :)

Thanks for the blog Carp. I think I really feel a connection to this team thanks to your blog. Its nice to have one written by a guy who actually has access to the team, rather than just a random fan typing from his couch at home. I appreciate you getting in the locker room, and to practice, and getting real quotes, real soundbites from the team. It really helps me to connect to the players. I also appreciate your even keeled approach to everything. Many things that I find ridiculous with media/fan hype/overreacting you seem to as well. I’m gonna have to find a blog like this for the mets and giants :)

Just a couple of things to summarize this season. It was a great and unexpected one indeed. The playoff push forced teams to take their game to the next level with about 10-15 games left in the season. You could tell right there and then that the Rangers didn’t have that extra gear because they used it during the regular season to get to where they were. Even playing some motivated teams that were Out of the playoffs was a struggle.

As difficult as it is to say, this team was more tired than some of their competitors and yet still willed it’s way to the Eastern conference Finals.

I hope they restock for next year. I don’t think Parise is going anywhere. I do hope that they make a run at Justin Schultz. He could be a McD 2.0. If not better.

Guys, don’t be such drama queens. We live in such a spoiled societe, these moments put hairs on your chest. Real drama be our service men and women who are in harm’s way, and those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. Live your lives thru the guidance of the Beatles: Allstate youse need is the loves.

All the finger pointing on Lundqvist’s game 5 was really more a culmination of a relatively soft playoff performance. He simply did not have the eye of the tiger and that is what scares me and hurts me the most going forward after this knock out.

We’ve just seen better from him (in past playoffs). He did not bring his A game every night and especially in nights where a 2 game lead was in sight. Here’s a guy who had a specifically lighter season and had his whole team laying out and absorbing more shots than anyone in the NHL this year. He really does need to “step it up a notch and then another” and it just seems to me like that was finally facilitated for him, yet he still didn’t play his best hockey that we’ve seen, even with the Stanley Cup in sight. Just tastes like Luongo to me right now.

As of right now, that game 5 defines him for me. I know a lot of that is just anger,

8 month old slept through the night as she usually does and the weather is nice. I wish there were a game tomorrow to look forward to but Carp’s comment in the first bulletpoint is the key one: We’re ahead of schedule. Most of us, before the season, would have taken a guarantee of the ECF in 2012-13. And we stand to lose either no one or, atleast, no one we don’t want to lose. Things look good.

As of right now, that game 5 defines him for me. I know a lot of that is just anger, but 4 goals on 16 shots 2-2 in the ECF is something you don’t forget. He has played MUCH better with MUCH worse and LESS dedicated teams in front of him.

I still can’t believe another OT loss….what was it, 62 seconds this time?

What a game, what a hangover. Grave dissapointment. Pound for pound I believed this team was better than the devils. Losing stinks.
Carp 2 questions; re. #5 if the devils are the best organization why are you so confident that Parise isnt there next year? I cant think of many teams where the captain would just stroll out of town…besides the cleveland cavaliers. And re. #10 if LQ deserves better than the team is under the bus, but if he needs to step it up it seems LQ would be under it. Is it both?

Someone please explain something to me….what is with this latest odd ball maneuver that several of them seem to make lately, I refer to this getting the puck at center ice, and then when fore checked they skate with it BACK INTO THEIR OWN ZONE.

at that point it becomes a fight to keep control, which soon slips into a scramble for it deeper in their zone, and eventually a scramble around their net for it with the goaltender going nuts trying to protect both sides simultaneously.

I dunno……just color me…….baffled.

What a long summer this one is going to be. After long years, they finally gather a team of potential cup material, and then like the sands of an hour glass…it’s all gone.

But then again…..the Mets don’t seem to be in any rush to improve themselves either I switch to Baseball because it;s too painful to talk any longer aboot hockey.

NOw someone tell me ( ( Mets lingo here)…why did the Mets ever dump Nick Evans? Here they had the premier fill in player who could play all positions, hits with authority, including the long ball), and they dump him off to the Pirates farm club. They treated him shamefully, with the up and down movements of him when it was plain to see that he was superior to at least 5 or 6 of their regulars. Ahh..color me baffled.

Carp – what can I say other than Thank You – I also read this blog every day – EVERY MOMENT I CAN – sometimes to my wife’s chagrin. I follow this team in every format I can – TV, Radio, Internet, etc. The one constant is of course you and this blog and my fellow boneheads. Thank you for all that you do for this blog and thanks to all of my fellow ‘heads’ – its been a great ride.

As mentioned above, those of us old enough to live through the “1940” chant remember how special that year and that cup run was. How sweet it was in the parade that followed – was a very special time for me and for my sons, 2 years old and 2 months old. I had them both up that June night watching the cup win, and told them both how important and special this was at that time – even if they had no idea!!

Now they are old enough that they slide down the thruway here and take in Rangers games on their own. That is just awesome – they bleed blue as much as their old man. Both solid hockey players in their own right. I think that they will see another cup run and win soon – and I think they will enjoy the next one even more than the first!

Torts said it best after winning in Tampa – ‘I never new how hard that was going to be’ or something to that extent. It really is the hardest trophy, IMHO, to win in sports. To get to the cup finals is just a grueling ordeal and battle.

I have stated here many times – look at the ages of the KIDS on this team – they are the same as my own – 20, 21. The fact that they got this far in the tournament is an AMAZING testament to Torts and the entire Rangers staff. I am sure McD cried his eyes out – this was a hard loss to take. Stall is still not his old self yet – this team has a long way to go in the growth and development of these kids. They will get their shot again.

Thanks Carp – I really appreciate your work on this blog – it keeps me sane when I want to jump in the Hudson. I keeps me going when in the dead of summer I am dying for some kind of news – even if its FRAN telling us stories of driving a truck through Florida. Just Awesome!

If the Devils win the cup, 2 fighting Sioux have their names engraved on it. That would make it 11 total the most all time from any college that has developed a player for the pro’s.

Sorry Boneheads I’m not from NY, I don’t have the Hate for the Devils as you do. I really do have an enormous amount of Pride in Parise. yes he ended my favorite teams season, but he did it in a conn smythe fashion. It wouldn’t bother me one bit if Zach brought the cup back to the Ralph in ND as another Stanley Cup champion. Toews brought it back a couple of
years ago as a young C on his team. His entire city game him a hero’s welcome.

Parise the C on the Devils and Greene is the A on the Kings were college roomates in Walsh hall as

I hate to paraphrase Antrel Rolle, but at the end of the day, the Devils had too much offensive talent in too many places for us to handle, we saw it in the regular season and knew this going in.

Yes its a disgusting feeling to lose to the Devils and have what looked to be a magical season end that way, but as a result we learned where the Rangers stand as a team right now and what they could become if the right moves are made.

Mike Rupp probably won’t be back next year. You can blame a lot on him, actually.

What a great year! What a great team! This is only the beginning of the ride for this group, and I’m excited for next season already.(don’t mess it up Sather) Hope they feel a ton of pride when the pain eases.

THANK YOU CARP AND ALL THE ‘HEADS that made my first year reading/posting very enjoyable. Was nice to enjoy a season with passionate fans, there is NOTHING like Ranger fans anywhere.

Like eric, and a lot of others I have 2 ankle biters that take up sooo much time that I’ll see ya all this coming preseason.

First let me echo the thanks to your Carp for one of the best sports blogs anywhere and to all the boneheads who prove how great it is to root for the NY Rangers.

Last night hurt alot since in was a series the Rangers had chances to win but couldn’t capitalize and the Debbies did and when the their 4th ling out performs our 1 st line that’s a problem .

As pissed off as we can be right now in few days when we’re all a bit calmer we will realize how good and how young and good this Rangers team is.

I had more fun going to MSG this season than I have in a long time as this team is very easy to root for as all you can ask of your team is to give you max effort game in game out and the NY Rangers gave you that all year.

As for the Debies I tip my hat to Lou Lamoriello who is the best GM of any sports team in the area but not many fans know who he is same for his team which is the least covered team by any media outlet in the NY metro area. It will interesting to see how the NY papers cover the Finals not that Rangers are out expect to see a lot of AP stories.

yan McDonagh has stepped up to be a world class defense man and Chris Kreider

>>Guys, don’t be such drama queens…Real drama be our service men and women who are in
>>harm’s way, and those that have made the ultimate sacrifice.

I’m sure there are plenty of forums on the Internet where that sort of thing is discussed. Has it ever occurred to you that people might use this hockey thing as an escape? You know, something to make them forget about “real drama” for a moment or two?

Carp you stepped up for these playoffs, I wish our players all did. Hank 2/3 series, Richie 1/3, McD 3/3, Staal 3/3, danny3/3, Gabby some games, AA not enough games, Hags was good not good enough, MDZ was feast or famine, at least he hit big guys. Kreider was great, Bickel awful, Prust not good, Boyle not good enough, Feds was good, Cally a warrior, stepan disappeared a lot.
So having vented all that the D held it together with Hank. We are young fast with a good coach,but we need a sniper a defenseman and we will be battling again. The part that hurts is a lot of things broke our way this yr. doesn’t always happen n doesn’t means we are this close next yr. BTW does anyone think McD reminds them of Scott Nedimyer (spelling.)
This group hit blocked shots, bounced back back and played the right way, but still it pissed me off and underperformed at the wrong times. Cup was there for our taking.

4 – These things happen in the playoffs. I can’t blame individual players for not scoring, especially injured Boyle and Dubinsky, because that is not the hallmark of this team. I can blame Del Zotto for contstant defensive breakdowns, even though he had some offensive spark.

10 – Still say Henrik should have been pulled after the third goal in game five. Wouldn’t it have been great for him to get that rest, especially with the next game on Friday, not Saturday as usual? Sure, the Rangers came back with three straight goals, but they could have done that with Biron in net, too. Henrik could have been his brilliant self and saved their bacon more.

It was painful to watch that overtime goal hit off of Gaborik’s skate in front of Henrik twice, especially thinking back to how the Capitals scored in overtime in game five last seaosn. He could have cleared that thing away.

completely agree with jbytes. the rangers is my passion my joy my escape from life. diaper changes baby crying wife being a pain in the butt job sucking etc etc etc. as someone who makes an avg living who pours $3000 dollars into this team a year for season tix. they cost close to $5000 but i cant make every singel regular season game as well as cant afford it. i do it to be there for playoffs what happens at the end of the year to this team eats at me for weeks and months and there are times i go to a pool lay on a chair and think about games lost that will always sit with me. last night is one that i will remember for the rest of my life.

Youth on the roster is nice but talent and grit trump youth for me any day of the week and, at this stage of my life, ( i have been a die-hard since the late 60’s) i don’t really care if the players are “homegrown” or not. Derek Stepan was a major disappointment. He was consistantly being caught from behind in the neutral zone and stripped of the puck – not just in this series – all playoffs long. He lacks the speed, strength and quickness to get in on the forechecking. He seemed to be skating in sand. I have my doubts about him – he would probably pump 50 in the AHL, but I am concerned about his ability to keep up with NHL pace of play, especially against the better skating and aggressive checking teams. He has disappeared during. The playoffs now for two years running. I hope MDZ can recover from his dreadful play in this series. When Torts was mentioned the “yips” with the puck, I immediately thought he was referring to MDZ. The kid was awful – he had no skating legs and handled the puck like he had two broken hands.

Papa gonna agree with you on stepon. He does lack some speed, and Delzotto was just frustrating. He was so inconsistent with his play. Yea he would have some great offesive games, but his D really is a weakness that NJ exposed.

I just experienced the worst thing about being a Ranger fan: the annual (except 1994) waking up the next morning & realizing the whole thing is really over. No more games to look forward to, no more intense discussions with friends about how bad a Playoff performer Marian Gaborik is, no more speculation about the injuries of guys like Callahan & Boyle….

Maybe it’s some of the sting remaining from last night, which I promise won’t wear off for weeks, but I refuse to say this was a good season and use that to try to mitigate what just happened. By playing so well in the regular season, all it did was give us and this team real expectations to win it all, and they fell short. I don’t think it was a lack of effort, but it was a lack of execution. I will exempt Lundqvist from that previous statement, who played absolutely out of his mind this year and in the playoffs, only for the players in front of him to hang him out to dry again and not give him what he needs.

Pro sports are a funny, unique situation. 29 out of 30 teams will have an unsuccessful season. And I do mean that. This is results based. This season was a failure for the Rangers. All of the great plays, hard working wins, etc from the regular season mean NOTHING, because we lost and we don’t have the cup. I’m a lawyer, and If I conduct a masterful trial that ends with my client going to jail, then that’s a failure. Sure we can look to this season and see some positives that might give us hope for next year, but in the end it’s the same crap every year. No Cup. And it hurts more to be this close.

First star of the season goes to Carp. It felt like I was there in the locker room and in the practices and on the ice with the rangers, enhancing my fan experience. Y’all are great too, even though you become negative nancies a bit too quickly. I tweeted this last night:

Thanks for the 102 games NYR, it was fun while it lasted. One June day we will crown our king and our city. #trueblue

It was one of the best seasons the rangers put together in a long long time. But we want the cup and we will get it ranger fans sooner rather than later, I have no doubt.

You may well be right about Evans, but I;m going by his performances over the past 3-4 years when he’s been called up, they could put him anywhere and he’d produce. Hit for average and the long ball…did it very well last season…so….you’re probably correct but that’s all I had to go on, and the comparison with some of the dolts they have there now.

“Judging from the picture on top, do you think Buffalo Sabres fans think that goal should have counted?”

Heh.

Like I’m sure most of you I feel an immense emptiness inside this morning. Its always far more painful the morning after a season ending loss than right afterwards. I’m proud of our guys but sad that its over just a little bit too soon. We caught lightning in a bottle this year. This was our chance. Will we be good next year? Hopefully, but there are so many variables you can’t be sure. I’m trying not to think about that right now

Slept better than I thought I would. Still hurt when I woke up, but luckily my pregnant wife was up too, so we decided to take the dogs for a walk. She was quiet, knew how hurt I was. But when I started to talk to her I realized I wasn’t anymore. After we came back from a walk, and after I read Carp’s review, I let her read it too. She hasn’t before. And she said:”Wow, number 1 was exactly what you were talking about just now”. I said that the hurt subsided and I feel more pride, and I feel it was a remarkable season. Trust me, this girl has been with me through all the miserable times with this team, and she knows exactly how I feel now.

Carp, we don’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us over these years, and now we really appreciate it even more. This playoff run has been much deeper, and much more intense than any of others that you’ve covered on this blog. And you gave us a tremendous amount of effort, time spent, passion, and stuck with us even when we thought your patience would run out. Some people forget that you don’t have to do this. Because you have enough things to do at the paper without running this place. Thank you. And special thanks to Josh, 26, Sean and everyone else who took part in running this place ( that includes the IT clowns who still haven’t made the audio playable on iOS devices :-)

And special thanks to all the Boneheads, everyone who posts regularly, and occasionally. We’ve had our misunderstandings, and our moments, but we’ve become an even bigger and closer family this year. That included losing some of our posters, some of them getting very sick, but recovering well. And we’ve seen people gettimg married, had some new additions to our family, both as new posters and newborns. Long live RR, and thank you all.

I know some of you guys are really hurt, depressed, pissed off, etc. but you cant call this season a waste. Great foundation in place! I think we have a very good chance of talking about them next memorial day weekend 2013.

Hurting now and will for a while but my affection and pride for this team is not diminished.

I may watch some of the Final games but I’m more interested to learn about what our boys endured along the way. Also curious to see who survives the offseason and who is brought in to address our lack of offense. An improved offense will enable our defense to be in better shape at this point of the season next year.

Carp, thank you for your dedication and effort invested in fueling and guiding this community. It’s made the victories sweeter and the losses more bearable with plenty of LOL moments to help keep things in perspective.

Best wishes to Tony and Miami on their road to recovery. Miami, hope you got a “yes” last night and will hear a “no” in the future, as in “no more disease”.

Good season guys. Not ending how we would have wanted it but this team has come a long way in the past couple of seasons. It wasn’t too long ago when we were thinking about how we could get rid of Drury, Gomez, Redden and Rozi and when the team was ever going to get close competing with the powers of the conference and the league.

There’s a stable of young talent, a captain that sets an example every time he takes the ice, a goalie that takes losing harder than any of us do and a coach that isn’t satisfied with finishing this early.

Playing the blame game can be fun for a while but that’s not going to change anything for how the season went and there’s still a lot to look forward on the horizon.

I don’t even know where to start. What adjectives can be used to describe the roller coaster that was last night? Painful, heartbreaking, brutal, devastating…..

It was a tough night for sure. I didn’t come on to this blog, because to be honest, I didn’t want to deal with the “seasons over” stuff if they went down by one goal or god forbid two. I also for the first time in my LIFE watched a hockey game with NO SOUND! I find the NBC broadcast to be like nails on a blackboard. It was virtually unbearable…

I was musing the other day about why as a grown man with a family that I care so much about a GAME? I was sitting in bed on Thursday wife with my wife. She was reading a book and I was surfing channels. I came to MSG’s 50 greatest moments. They were on the pete stemkowski OT goal against the blackhawks in the playoffs in 1971. It almost brought a tear to my eye. as I watched, I was transported back to E. 17th ST and Ave I in brooklyn. It was late at night. I was supposed to be sleeping as it was long past my bedtime. I had the covers pulled over my head with a little white earphone in listening to my Japanese transistor radio. The unbridled joy I felt when Stemmer scored is something that is still palpable today. It was no different than I felt when Gabby scored in triple OT or when Richards and Staal scored in game 5 vs. the Caps. Maybe that is why I care so much. It connects me to my childhood when life was simpler and Hockey, baseball and football meant EVERYTHING to me! With the pressures of work, life and putting 4 children through college (OY!) the Rangers take me away and transport me to another place. I love the sport and I love the team deeply. It doesn’t make much sense, but it is a fact and it is deeply woven into the fabric of my life.

THOUGHTS:

1. CARP: I have been a fan of yours for a long time. I will never forget you and Lynn Zinser made your predictions for the cup final in 94! I was a fan even before than, but man did you get that one right. I have been reading this blog for a long time! Back to the days of Sam. But, I never was an active participant, just a lurker. But, I decided to come out of the closet (EASY GUYS) and join the party. They say that lawyers are frustrated writers at heart and I think this is true. I have enjoyed putting my feelings down in cyberspace.

As far as #2… RIGHT ON! This blog is great. Quirky, crazy NY Rangers fans who care as much as I do. And some smart and insightful fans as well. Thank you (especially to the oldtimers) for allowing new people to join the family.

2. OK, the game… Another disappointing and puzzling slow start. But, as I have been saying.. This group indeed had the collective heart of a LION! I was so proud of them coming back yet again.

3. The short bench: I think it was key that Torts couldn’t spread the minutes out more evenly. Our 4th line was no factor. Theres was a collective MONSTER. We need a third defensive pair that can play real minutes! Someone mentioned it above, I think the loss of Sauer (he had developed into a shut down, physical top 4 D-Man) was something that was key. We didn’t talk about it much because injuries must be overcome, but it was important.

4. HANK: in terms of this year, overall.. THERE ARE NO WORDS!

5. THE KREIDER: I can barely contain myself about this kid! Last night we saw yet another dimension to his game. He was a physical presence. I think there were 4 instances where he absolutely crushed a Devil with a thunderous check. He is fast, he is big, he has a great shot, he is a finisher, he is physical and he has a very high hockey IQ! Wow!! What a pick by the Rangers. He is young and still has a lot to learn; but he is going to be a good one!

6. HAGS: I love this kid too. But, he needs to develop more confidence in his shot and to take it more. He will never be the finisher that Kreider is, but in my opinion, there is no reason with his skill set that he can’t pot 20-25 goals a year! His wheels are amazing. I think he will be a great 2nd or third line player for this team for years to come.

8. CALLY: A captain in every sense of the word! I want to know what was wrong with his hand. He managed to score three goals this series. 1 EN and 2 off of his legs. He bleeds blue. WE should be so proud to call him our captain.

9. MAC TRUCK: I agree with sentiments posted by others. At 22 years old in his first full season, he is our BEST defenseman. It is not even close. I think there is untapped offensive potential. He will be an allstar for the next decade! He has norris trophy potential. He will help lead us to the cup one day in the near future.

10. THE FUTURE: This ending was so frustrating. If you had told me that in sept, this team would take a huge leap forward, win the east, win two rounds and go to game 6 in the ECF, I would have signed up in a second. But, you never know what is going to happen. Injuries etc, draws in the playoffs… This year was a year where things broke the rangers way and I think they had a legitimate shot to win it all. The playoffs are a crapshoot! Look at the top teams this year.. DISPATCHED!

I just hope and pray that this group comes out of this experience stronger and more dedicated. Look at the 95 devils … A young team that was so close in 1994 and came back to win it next year.

It does worry me that many people will be picking the Rangers to do big things next year! I rather enjoyed coming out of nowhere to accomplish what we did.

We must pray that Sauer’s career is not over. I think that will be a key. Also, if Dylan McIlrath develops into that tough crease clearing D-Man (in the beuk mold) that some think he will.. WATCH OUT!

I think we need to use our depth in the minors to make additions to this team. I am high on Parise as a free agent, but maybe a power forward like Rick Nash is better suited to what we need. Can you imagine two beasts like Nash and Kreider on your team. Will be hard to defend.

We sure have a lot to talk about.

As the pain of this loss and being so close fades…. I think I will be prouder and prouder of what this team did.

Carp, Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about an extra ticket for game seven in the finals. Great job with the blog this year. Love to boast that I am related to you. Saw your mom the other day. I tee off every sunday morning at maplemoore with KOFUSCO. So I’ve graduated from hack to pretty lousey. Now that you have a little time, if you need a fourth during the week, call me.

It’s been fun to be a part of your blog, and accepted as
an apprentice bonehead, until I finally reached a point that I had become something of a regular, who has to
inject past history comments because I have none of the connections you all have up in NY NY.

As for my “stories”, yes I have had many adventures throughout my life, and some very close calls, times when I could have bought the farm as they say, but I’ve always believed that I had some kind of Angel watching over me, probably someone praying for me, but I managed to get by. Now in my mid eighties, and I’ve lived through a significant part of the recent history of this country, but I just got back from the VA for my semi annual physical checkup, and as luck would have it, they gave me a clean bill of health.

tbw has a birthday coming up and I’ve already bought two different cards for her ( lost the first one), and can’t find the other one ( old age you know). my grand children are just about all young adults now, all eight of them (6 girls). lose myself in my piano for a few hours a week, just for amusement, and I read voraciously…….and if it weren’t for sports and some
of the more intelligent talk shows, I’d never watch TV.
Especially if there is a new book handy. I still weigh the same as I did when I got discharged, I don’t eat a lot. Going up to CT shortly to see my youngest grad High school and already she’s signed in for Eastern CT
and like all my daughter’s girls, a competitive swimmer, and got help in the college financially due to her swimming ability. My little red head……can’t wait to see her. thanks to all of you for what you do and say, and how well you’ve treated me and my antics over the years.

You know, I have an old b&w photo of myself and my father and mother standing in the grass of the old Polo Grounds, after the last game the Giants ever played
there. If you are interested, I’ll make a copy and forward it to someone who may be interested in seeing it. ( I was young then).

I agree with Manny and ilb. I just woke up and expected it to hurt more. It hurts of course and I will miss seeing this team as a whole play every other night. But im not upset. Nothing to be upset or ashamed about. And the hurt will go away in a few days.

Joe in DE. I hope Ranger management feels the same way. It makes me sick to continually read in posts “the season should be judged a success because our September expectations were surpassed.” This is plain and simple Bull#*+^! ….Moving forward, this is clearly a critical off-season, perharps the most important off-season since the Cup in 94. We do have a solid foundation to build on. However, to win a cup, we probably require a 30-50% turnover in the roster. We are arguablly in the hardest phase of rebuilding, determining value of our current assests, deciding where our shortcomings are, identifying options to fill the gaps in our current roster (free agency, trades, promotions etc.). It is a perpetual work in progress, breaking down and re-tooling. Sather has not been very succesful so far in his tenure with the Rangers. I hope that changes this year. Torts has been able to change the on-ice culture which is evident by the work ethic of the team. But that can only take you so far. Let’s bring the overall skill level of our roster up so that in next years playoffs, our 4th line is out scoring the opponents first line.

I’m hurting. I know all my Broadway Blueshirts buds are hurting too. Its the price we pay for being a fan. A fan of the best sport on earth. In the greatest city in the world. Of the team that wears the Red, White and Blue sweater of an Org’l 6 with pride every night. That showed us this season what it means to play with grit, heart and soul every game. Thank you to the the men who laced up the skates this season for us. Thank you Torts and to your coaching staff. After game 5 in round one Coach Torts said “there’s a reason for everything” . We went on to win game 6 and 7. Then we beat a team that took us out of the playoffs to many times. To lose in the Conf. finals sucks big time.But i cant wait to see what the reason is next season. Carp, Thanks for Staying True and Bleeding Blue for all of us Boneheads. Long live the Blue Seats.. and will miss the old Garden very much. LGR ! (and the Kings too)

Thank you, Carpy!! This has been the best Ranger thing thats happened for me in years!!! I look forward to enjoying the years ahead with you and all the terrific Boneheads, whether they are Polyanna’s, Negative’s or somewhere in the middle…you guys all are the BEST!!!

Was wondering how I’d feel this AM….perhaps coining a new term: EMPTY PRIDE!

Yea, a lot of things I’ll miss that are now over (games, game coverage, this blog…), so it is EMPTY. But that emptiness has to be cancelled and trumped by a ton of PRIDE that these kids could achieve what they did. Wow, did they show heart and skill!! We have been yearning that forever (except for about 4 years in the 1990’s) in Rangerland.

I will continue to point to the fact, although it will not change, that our GM has had 13 years and he has pulled some of the dumbest moves ever in hockey. I won’t list the wasted trades, drafts, FA signings, but as I have been saying ALL year, and as to your point #5, Carpy, look across the river. This SHOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN SO LONG. Thank the lord he was, at least, smart enough to bring in people that could help him so our time has, and little thanks to him, finally, finally come. I hope he continues to listen to others, pathetic, awful, fired anywhere else, married to us for life, gardner;not GM, that Sather is.

Yes, as some have posted, we had a great opportunity this year, with Pitt and Boston going down, but we weren’t ready. We will all have to hope we get the same opportunity in the next few years.

We have a great core which includes the wondrous MacD (oh, baby what a great one he will be!), Girardi, Staal (he will be fully returned to us next year!), THE KREIDER, and Hank (although he was great for most of the regular season, he wasn’t the stopper we need for the last 3 games). Step can play scrumming hockey, but his offense needs to come. I am not fully sold on either Richards or Gabby, but I love our young guns. Who knew that Dionne Phaneuf would alter our abilities so much this year, and I hope that Sauer can return to hockey. He was much needed. I hope some other young guys develop their games, too.

JBytes, you are being melodramatic (No Anthony). It sounds ridiculous to cry over a team losing a series or game. We weren’t the ones playing, and even the players shouldn’t be crying like a 4 year old denied is Hulk Lego set.

My little Cherry Garcia eating buddy summed it up the best when he said the following many moons ago: “I just want the team to be entertaining.”

Well, they were really entertaining, and they lost to the better team. Blaming guys like Mike Rupp is also moronic. This season was a blast to watch, and the team should be entertaining for the next 3-5 years minimum. Hopefully we get the Zachmeister who reminds me a lot of Jamie “Darren’ Langdonbrunner with even more offensive skill.

This doesn’t mean I don’t love you all very dearly because I do. More than you will ever know. Many of you are as adorable as Hummel figurines or beanie babies, but stop crying like little sissies. If you want to act like sissies, maybe you should look to Marv Albert for some guidance.

PapaBear, I so agree with you. It was depth that ultimately pitchforked us. To be fair, this team was ahead of schedule for the rebuild process, so some credit there to the parts lacking (yes, even I can give our fanciful GM a little leeway for his lack of knowledge and judgment).

The Devils 4th line came together in the playoffs and just clicked. Ours was, for the most part useless. We also need a stay at home, big lugging defenseman that Scott Steven’s checks you and makes you scared. Hank, however, should have been rested.

It can’t be a positive that all year long Torts rolled 3 lines of 3 and 2.5 of ‘d’. When you play 100 games, including the shot blocks and all that goes with it, eventually, no matter how tough your training camp was, you’re gonna tire. We did have some weak plays, defensively especially these last few games. The kid that happen when your physically exhausted. We didn’t lift pucks over a sprawling baby whale (aka Richards in the 3rd), and lacked offensive creativity. How much of that was because Torts only used 10-11 forwards all playoffs and year, and 5 defensemen all playoffs and year?

This off season, the right moves have to be made. If we can develop a real 4th line, it would be a positive.

I’m sure the Devils are tired, but not as tired as we are. Their coach could roll 4 and 3 all game, all season long.

To address the concept of escapism. That is part of the problem with societe as a whole. Not facing anything, but trying to avoid pain or hardship. SOunds a lot like or economic policies to a degree. Luckily this nation has the Lou Lamoriello of central bankers AKA the Bernank aka Ben Bernanke. God bless the Bernank.

Carp–your recaps are the best aspects of Rangers coverage anywhere. The blog is fun and so are the chats. Thanks for doing them. I am bummed this morning. Every season end comes with pain, what if’s and if only’s. The problem we have is that it is so difficult to get this far, and there is no guarantee they will get this far again. The dopey league will not start on time, and they will get their stupid new alignment passed meaning the Rangers will have to get through NJ, PIT, PHL, WAS just to get to the semifinals. Every year. This was a golden opportunity squandered. Henrik is on the Giacomin path right now. That includes a career without the cup. they need further talent upgrades. Hopefully, they will get them.

This offseason is so important for the Rangers. Management must make the correct decisions re:RFA, URFA, trades, etc. Torts is correct..this team must get better…standing pat this group will not be back to the ECF next season. The glass should be looked at as half empty..not half full. Weaknesses, shortcomings must be addressed as earnestly as possible.

These guys weren’t supposed to get this far. And, they made you believe anything was possible. Don’t get me wrong, last night’s loss still burns. Hurts a little less when you think about the bright future ahead.

Torts has infused a mindset into this young team and this is only the beginning of where the Rangers want to be as a hockey organization. They will be a perennial contender. I don’t think “they got lucky” all the way to the Conference finals.

Thanks to Carp, for everything. There is no other blog that even comes close to the community we have here.

I hope all the rest of you see it this way too, there isn’t much to be negative about. We were 6 wins from the Cup. I think we all would have taken that at the start of the season, with open arms…

Goal scoring and faceoffs are the biggest holes this team needs to continue to address. And, they will be much better next year….

There are some great moments in NYR history that came out of this season. Winter Classic, .01 in Phoenix, two Game 7s at MSG, a triple overtime game, the heroic Game 5 against Washington. Regardless of the outcome, there’s NO other team I’d rather support than the Blueshirts. I’m proud to be a NYR fan.

LW3H, sorry, but Sather was already talking about petunia’s and hyacinth’s. Hockey has to be placed on hold here. Much more important is gardening in Banff. Recent article had quotes from him about his ‘first love’.

He even had time to do that during the playoff run. Glad to see he’s been happy and pre-occupied and of course, tan, while everyone else worries about the playoffs:

I’m also cautiously optimistic about the direction of the team, though there are obvious flaws, in terms of both playing resources and playing/coaching philosophy, that need some attention in the summer. (And we are always a single day in July away from Sathernomics kicking everybody squarely in the groin again.)

Realistically though, even if the team improves in a general sense, chances are that it will regress to below 50 wins next year and won’t sit in the #1 seed for so long, if at all. As we’ve seen, the parity in the league means the margins between success and failure aren’t great.

So if the Rangers are seemingly struggling in a lower seeded position a couple of months into the season, will we all be patient and acknowledge the parity, perhaps laid the team for pacing itself better over the season (as was a concern of quite a few on here all this year?

Or will there be blind panic and demands for trades, firings, executions if the Rangers are only four games above .500 in January?

I think the Devils had a little more maturity than the Rangers. I believe that Anisimov has played his last game as a Ranger. The Rangers are gonna sign Justin Schultz, and make a move for Parise or Nash. I think Richards was excellent in the playoffs. He has the demeanor and skill to lead this team for the next 3-5 years. Gaborik? People will look at him as a guy who couldn’t handle the pressure of the playoffs, but in fairness he was the only dangerous player the NYR put on the ice. The other teams gave him no room. One more threat on the NYR and Gabby would have thrived. But hey, this team has a really bright future. I am looking forward to it…after my hangover subsides.

Carp – I want to personally thank you for everything you do. It will be a long miserable summer without your Go Time and Reviews. As I sit here at my laptop tears are running down my face knowing the season is over and there isnt any more Ranger hockey. I admit I do post some frustrating comments giving up when it looks bleak but for me that is me dealing with the first stage (Denial and Isolation) of the 5 stages of grief. Now I have to move on to the second stage so I can finally get to stage 5 which is acceptance. I will still be checking in throughout the summer to speak to everyone as we all look forward to a great next season. Thank you again Carp for everything you do for us Blueshirt fans.

“While giving credit to the Devils, isn’t it remarkable how they keep re-stocking their talent? ”

Besides Adam Henrique, who are you talking about exactly? Fourth liners ( even though they killed the Rangers this series) Ryan Carter and Stephen Gionta don’t count.

Plus, the Devils future doesn’t look to bright in net with no real can’t-miss goalie prospects. Also, factor in Parise is likely a goner this summer (win or lose) and Kovalchuk’s contract will cripple them in the long run.

Without turning into another Fire and Zice correspondent, one point on the Devils…

I keep reading how Lou Lam “rebuilt his team” in a single year, which seems to be a misrepresentation of things somewhat.

Of those who played last night (and most of the series), the only significant additions from last year seem to be Henrique (who was in the organisation already) and Zidlicky (who seems to have worked out, but whose trade earned mixed reviews at best at the time). As well as their fourth line has played, they are waiver pickups and a career minor leaguer who were sharing playing time with Janssen and Boulton for much ov the year.

So the “rebuild” might more accurately be described as the team playing more at (or above) their level after a botched coaching hire and terrible half a season last year.

And just to be a churlish bad loser, it’s a poor reflection on the flawed Rangers and other eastern teams that a still pretty unremarkable Devils team has made the Final.

And not to belittle his career achievements, but the drooling over Lou Lam’s work by much of the media conveniently ignores the (repeated) hash he made of his team’s salary cap situation, even ignoring the Kovalchuk cap circumvention issue.

It took a few favours from other GMs (Malakhov to San Jose, Rolston to the Islanders), being the market leader in cap dumping (Mogilny, Vishnevski) and some convenient long-term “injuries” (Matvichuk, Salvador) to squeeze previous versions of his first-round exiting teams under the cap.

i just want to join the group in saying thank you to carp for making this playoff run extra special… this place has really turned into a great place to live and die with the nyr for me, and i’m grateful. there is no better read than the morning after recap and of course the always humorous ‘Go Time’ pre-game-ers…

i don’t understand the getting on lundqvist here… sure he gave up some soft ones but the fact of the matter is they wouldn’t have gotten close to here without him and they probably would have been swept in this series if not for his two shutouts. the d was fine outside of some yips and mistakes, but our achilles heel was the same as it has been forever… they need more scoring, plain and simple.

and let me just go on record as saying, the day after this loss, i have no interest in seeing zach parise in a blueshirt. maybe i will warm up to the idea as this loss gets further away, but the day after they knocked us out, he’s going to feel like the enemy for a while.

Woke up this morning and you know what? The sun was shining and it was warm and muggy. That to me is a great indication of how wonderful and special this season was. To have my heart metaphorically ripped out last night and then to realize that this team was playing hockey on Memorial Day weekend this morning is something to be amazed at. Honestly, I was expecting a middle of pack team this season, taking another step forward in their development, but this team zoomed past the baby steps and into the elite status of the entire league, a perch they will hold for years to come, imo.

I can’t say enough good enough things about Hank’s splendid regular season and stellar playoffs, McDonagh becoming the #1 Dman on this team in less than a year, Girardi’s tremendous and very discplined play all season long, Richards with his magic touch last second goals, Callahan’s leadership, toughness and imo, turned himself into one of the best 2 way players in the game, Staal finding his ‘old self’ in the playoffs after a very uneven regular season, Boyle and Prust being monsters on the PK all season long, Gaborik’s regular season bounceback, Hagelin’s speed and tenacity which I think the team while use even more next year, Kreider stepping in and giving us a bare glimpse of what a special player he is going to be.

Sure there were lots of disappointments- Sauer getting hurt longtime and possibly forever, Dubinsky’s horrific season, Rupp being just average if not below average for a lot of the season.

This team gave me a lot of good memories this season and it was a great pleasure to share them with all you Boneheads, even the ones I disagee with at times. We are a truly dysfunctional family and at the end of the day, I do love each and every one of you.

However, this place wouldn’t be what it is without Carp. So thanks, Blogfather for being there to talk us all down from the ledge, for sharing your knowledge gleaned from years of being on the beat and your thoughtful insights on the team and the coach, for your humour , for interacting with all us crazy Ranger fans, and most importantly for your game reviews, which where always my first stop of the day on the internet.

It’s going to be a long, interesting summer for this organization and I do look forward to seeing how this team can be made better. The important pieces are place, now it is time to build it out even more.

Now that I have had time to reflect on the season and the past 12 hours, I can say this has been the best season of hockey I have ever experienced. I was a huge Whaler fan in the 90s, growing up close to Hartford. While the Whalers were never that great, they were my team. My neighbor was the backup goalie and nothing could be better. Then 1996-1997 happened and my team was taken by Carolina as the Whalers played their final game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a game they won 2-1. Even though the Whalers did not qualify for the post season, it was still a memorable season. I have never connected with a hockey team as much as I had with that Whaler team, until this year. I became a Ranger fan during the 1997-98 season as they my former neighbor, Jason Muzzatti, was traded to NY. Since then I have followed the team passionately. This season was so much fun. Yes, they could have used some more offense, but the Winter Classic, sweeping the Flyers season series, the HBO series, and so much more was what made this one heck of a great season. I hope that whatever happens during the offseason serves to only improve and build off this. I was shocked when ESPN said this will probably be the closest the Rangers get to the Stanley cup for many years. I think this is the start of something big as long as Dolan/Sather do not destroy the chemistry of this team. As much as I love summer, it is going to be painful to have to wait until October. However, there is one bright spot for me this post season and that is Jon Quick and the Kings. Quick played for AOF and was a fellow classmate of mine. He was amazing during his time at AOF and I believe he has what it takes to lead the Kings through a series with the Devils. So, I am glad that I do not have to cheer against him, but now can hope that he shuts the Devils out 4 times. Well I hope everyone had a great season and I for one am looking forward to the next chapter beginning in just a few months. Thanks to Carp for providing the best team blog in the NHL. I love how passionate this fan base is. During my two year stint in Ohio, I frequented both this blog and Puck Rakers (the best blog for the CBJ) and I must say this blog tells it like it is. Keep up the good work Carp!

I know it was a disappointing hockey result last night, but I was still very happy (I didn’t watch the game), but I really do think that these guys gave us a great season and we’re only one or two pieces (and now WR have more experience) away from the Cup.

That doesn’t mean I don’t think these no-talent clowns aren’t totally bush-league and amateur-hour (and, dare I forget, Mickey-Mouse). I’ll be back in a couple of days to give them – and you – a real piece of my mind.

First and foremost a BIG THANK YOU to Carp ,Josh 26 , & Sean Mayer for this great site for Rangers fans to interact with one another on a daily basis. Mickey a wonderful “novel” you posted. I agree with you. So many of the media at the beginning of the season wrote this team off, none of them had us ending up 2nd best in the league but we showed them how wrong they were. I still luv this team even the morning after. IMO I think this left an aweful taste in many of the guys mouths & I believe this experience will make them even better next season!!!!!!!!!!! LETS GO RANGERS!

TO THE DEVILS POSTER: WHen you come to this board we maintain a modicum of decorum. However, when it comes to syntax and grammar there are certain sentinels that guard against your kind. The kind that does not understand the dealings of predicate adjectives. When you come here you bring the byfuglien A-game of punctuation and grammar. We do not allow for a lack of savoir-faire simply because you are a cretin or miscreant unable to rise above the lascivious education that is the New Jersey swamp. We are NYers after all: the Rome of the present and future. We are wordsmiths. You, sir, belong in the cesspool that is Greece. A slave to your German masters and Mr Merkel who shall see to your undoing via austerity. We, on other hand, shall live like cocaine-addled leviathans..floating on the winds of the great printing presses of one Sir Bernard Bernanke. Enjoy your Pabst Blue Ribbon..small plebe…THAT IS ALL!™

Rangers need some killer scorers and a power play. Rangers, at times, controlled the puck in the offensive zone along the boards and at the point, but failed many time to get a strong scoring chance. Kreider has potential as a sniper. Gaborik disappeared, hurting Richards. Dubinsky injury hurt and Boyle was not up to par.
A for Defense and effort/hustle…. F for Offense and power play consistency.

Shocker that a floppy footed clown reappeared with another misinformed comment.

Also, did somebody put anything on Mike Sullivan? really?

By the comment about the Devils, I look at Parise, Zajac, Henrique, some of their young D, and yes their fourth-liners — Bernier was a monster in this series, Carter, Gionta … these are all young players who’ve arrived long since the last Cup. So, yes, re-stocked.

and the only reason I think Parise may leave is that they can’t afford to pay the electric bills, or put paper towels in the restrooms at the Rock.

Ria, thank you for mentioning Sean Mayer, because without him running our sports department, I’m not at so many games, and I’m definitely not traveling in the playoffs … which reminds me, I have to go cancel my hotel rooms in L.A.

It WAS the fatigue factor, plainly and simply, which killed this team. Too many minutes on the ice over the entire season for the leading D tandem; that GD mandatory “practice” for the entire team ~36 hours~ after the Washington Marathon. The GD network, with the complicity of the NHL / Associate NBA front office making the Rangers begin playoff hockey two days after the regular season ended, and go into the round with the Devils TWO DAYS, after the Washington series ended. And not to forget the league making this team play, what, 17 games in March?

I blame the coach for the collapse of this team, for his continuing to ignor obvious evidence that combining the playoff sked, the regular season wrap sked, and the Marathon game, he could not, would not, give this team three days off skates following the Marathon game. I mean, when does the coach say: “OK guys, you’re outta here until a couple hours before the next game. Stay off skates and just relax and regenerate mind and body during that time.”
But no, instead, this task-master had to publicly deny the team was even tired, prior to game five and keep whipping them like rabid puppies.

The best indicator that a team is tired is when it is constantly falling behind early in games, and consistently having to effect comeback victories. You talk about living by the sword and dying by the sword, that is it. The Devils skated more sharply and had much more in reserve than did the Rangers, so the “everyone (all teams) is tired” line doesn’t wash. Fact is the Devils braintrust husbanded the team’s resources much more intelligently than did Rangers brass.

The germaine point is that the Rangers were burned out of a Stanley Cup title that was theirs for the taking, had they not been beaten down by their own coach. Not optimistic, given that Torts learned nothing from all this, that this team will ascend to the top of the mountain, any time soon. Burn out game minutes for the top D-men, burn out practices for everybody, and blocking shots so that the players are black and blue with nagging injuries and dragging their asses, AND, accordingly, allowing far too many goals because the goalie was screened too much by all this shot-blocking mania – hey, it doesn’t add up to any glory any time soon, it just adds up to more of the same disappointment, next year and beyond.

Ria, great point on the bitter taste this left in their mouths. I think that speaks volumes about this team’s character (as if that was in doubt) and how much better and hungrier I think they will be next season.

Well, with a half notes sleep worth of perspective, all I can say is that this one will last a lifetime too. How did this team leave so many guys open all series? Strange. Both coaches deserve coach of the year votes- torts for masking weaknesses so brilliantly all year and DeBozo for being the only team to consistenly expose our weaknesses since tha AS break. I hope we all look back as old men and reminisce that this was the beginning of a dynasty as opposed to a lone great season that noone remembers but us

Generally speaking I thought the officiating has been poor for ALL the playoffs.
I like the idea of giving a coach 1 or 2 “reviews” per game (like the NFL) to review things such as offsides, penalties, icing touches, diving, etc. There is way too much riding on these playoff games to allow multiple reffing mistakes.

I think that allowing two different standards, one for the regular season and one for the playoffs, is regrettable. I think more hooking and interferring of players is allowed slowing down speedier teams. Also, In the third period and OT, just about anything goes……except if you accidentally shoot the puck out of the rink. Which leads to….

I would like to see the removal of the delay of game penalty for teams that shoot the puck out of the rink in the defensive zone. It is never done deliberately any more. Change the rule to make it similar to icings. Keep the same players on the ice for a defensive zone draw.

Add a minor penalty to any player that is knowingly on top of the puck who does not make an attempt get up immediately.

The NHL should consider changing the culture of “protecting” refs, regardless of how they perform.

I appreciate this forum for allowing me to give my opinions. I enjoy reading all the different viewpoints of the Rangers.

I’m not sure if it was posted, since I have not read through all the comments…. but, the Devils are certainly not the best organization in sports, no way, no how, and especially not when they don’t pay their bills and are in bankruptcy — having the NHL fund their team — and because their current billionaire owner just does not want to be part of their debt anymore. I’d say as an organization – thats a tremendous problem!

Dangir, without going off on an entire tangent on a day I’d prefer to talk about the Rangers … they cannot ever have replay for things such as penalties. No sport does, or ever would or ever could. … and they can never take out the delay of game penalty because it’s too easy for a team pinned to just flip it over the glass. That’s why they had to come up with the automatic rule in the first place. It’s here to stay.

Though I agree wholeheartedly that the officiating was pretty consistently lousy throughout the year and the playoffs.

Well, they’ve never fallen to any sort of depths, and now all of a sudden they look like a formidable organization going forward again … maybe close to on par with a franchise that has been rebuilding since, oh, 1997, and is finally getting there?

Carp, I KNOW you’re right. I’m just frustrated overall. I didn’t want to seem to be blaming the refs for the series loss, however I think the referreeing could have been a lot better. Just trying to add a different look on things than blaming Hagelin or DelZotto or Gaborik or whomever.

No, the bottom hasn’t fallen out of the Devils since their Cup-winning teams (and as I suggested above, last year’s lottery team looks quite a lot like this year’s Cup Final team), but they’ve been as mediocre as everybody else since the lockout. And the GM has a significant hand in that.

I’ll reserve judgement on how formidable they might be in future, once we see if Parise goes and how they replace Elias and their 79-year-old goalie tandem.